The World's Greatest Mother

Pastor Fred Rubi

By Pastor Fred Rubi

I clipped an amusing headline from ABCnews.com awhile back: Dina Lohan, Mother of the Year?

Yes, we are talking about Lindsay's mother.

The article began (and I quote): "So what if she raised a girl who racked up two DUI arrests and three rehab stints before her 22nd birthday? Dina Lohan's still a 'Top Mom' according to the Mingling Moms Organization of Long Island, NY."

A celebrity-watch site called The Superficial is even more brutal. The reason behind Mom Lohan's award, they speculate, is that "a woman who drowned her kids in a tub couldn't attend."

That's mean.

But what's even worse is that the whole affair makes a big joke out the sacred ideal of a wonderful mother.

Noah's wife is one woman I can safely call a wonderful mother.

In fact, I'll take it a step further: I hereby crown her The World's Greatest Mother.

It's a simple conclusion, really. Genesis tells us that "Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ark because of the flood," and Peter's first epistle specifically says, "Eight souls were saved through water."

Do the math. Noah's wife was the only mother in the whole world that was counted worthy to escape – the only contestant invited, so to speak.

So, I'm not joking: what was it about Noah's wife that made her the last mother standing? 

She followed God

Peter continues: "Noah, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly..."

The Bible is clear that Noah's wife qualified as an "heir of righteousness" in her own right, but rabbinical tradition goes even further. The Midrash says, "The virtues of Noah's wife outweighed those of Noah."

The sages believed her to be Naamah, daughter of Lemech, sister to Tubal-Cain.

Naamah means pleasant, which in ancient culture offers even more insight into the type of person she might have been.

Another traditional word used to describe Noah's wife is Rabbitzen (literally, the Rabbi's wife). This title of honor is only conferred upon women who glorify God by releasing their husbands to do the Lord's business.

She followed her husband

Of course, following Noah was no mean trick.

Extrapolating from Scripture, there's a very important yet often overlooked test she had to pass: marital faithfulness.

Jesus compared the end times to the days of Noah with this metaphor: "They were marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the ark…"

Naturally, when Christians read marriage we think of holy matrimony, but I'm afraid the Lord's allusion was much more sinister.

He was referring to the gross immorality in those last days leading up to the flood.

A more accurate paraphrase might be, "everyone was constantly changing partners."

When we consider that the "daughters of men" were at the forefront of the sexual revolution mentioned in Genesis, we can better appreciate the devotion of Noah's wife.

Staying on topic, what does her fidelity have to do with being the world's greatest mother?

In spite of what modern culture would like to believe, the most secure environment a mother could ever give her children exists within the confines of a solid marriage.

Her children followed

No doubt Noah's 120-year project would challenge the patience of even the most dutiful wife.

There were probably days when an exhausted Noah passed out on his boat, and even more when his work caused him to miss important family occasions.

I can imagine there were a few tense moments that had to be worked through.

Mrs. Noah: Honey, do you think… you know… maybe… you can take some time off so we could take the boys to the zoo?

Noah: Who has time for the zoo? Can't you see I'm busy?

Mrs N: So help me, if you don't take time off to take your sons the zoo… I'm gonna explode!

Noah: Zoo… You want zoo? How ‘bout I bring you the whole Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus?

It's all conjecture, of course, but there's a good chance Noah's wife carried much of the burden when it came to raising their sons.

I see her as the wise mother that takes it upon herself to make her children understand and respect their father's work in spite of all the stressful challenges it poses to the family.  Naturally, the only justification I have for such a thought is that, like their mother, Shem, Ham, and Japheth were saved.